Temper-screw-adjusting device



June 3 1924. 'I v 11,496,710

` L HAuBERl-r ,i

TEMPER scREw ADJUS'TING DEvIcE WITNESSES vlida ATTORNEY June 3 1924.1,496,710

L. HAUBERT TEMPER SCREW ADJUSTING DEVICE Filed March 6. 1923 2Sheets-Sheet 2 W cojaae'f', INVENTOR,

ATTOR N EY Patented June 3, 1924, m

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rarer Ferca,

LEO HAUBERT, MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA.

'IEMPER-SCREW-ADJUSTING DEVICE.

Application filed March 6, 1923.

To all '107mm t may con-cem.'

Be it known that I, Liao HAUn'nn'r, a' citizen of the United States,residing at `Mus mgee, in the county of Muskogee and State of Oklahoma,have invented a new and useful Improvement in Temper-Screw-AdjustingDevices, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to means for adjusting the temper screws of welldrilling machines.

The object is to provide mechanism for this purpose which may be readilyinstalled or incorporated in the structure of the ordinary well drillingmachines, such as are used in oil fields, without the necessity for anyalteration in the construction thereof, and which will permit of thefree and unhampered operation of the same during the drilling process.

Another object is to provide such means which may be readily operated toadjust the said screw, either'manually or by the application of powerderived from the walking beam drive shaft, such adjustment being readilyaccomplished during the continued up-and-down movements of said walkingbeam, and thus avoiding theusual dangerous and laborious process ofadjusting the screw by hand, which requires the operator to be elevatedto the proper heightand to follow the relatively rapid movements of theordinary adjusting means with his hands and to turn the same while sodoing.

full and complete understanding of the invention may be obtained from aconsideration of the following detailed description, taken in connectionwith the accompanying drawings forming apart of this specification, itbeing understood that while the drawings show a practical forni of theinvention, the latter is not to be confined to` strict conformity withthe showing thereof, but may be changed or modified so long as suchchanges or modifications mark no material departure from thesalientfeatures of the invention, as specifically pointed out in the appendedclaims.

ln the drawings, `in which similar reference characters designatecorresponding parts throughout the several figures:

Figure l is a side elevation of a portion ofa well drilling machinehaving the improved adjusting means applied thereto;

Serial N90. 623,135.

Figure 2 isa similar view of the adjusting means detached from the welldrilling` machine;

Figure 3 is a plan view`of the invention, las shown in Figure l ;v

Figure 4 is an enlarged, transverse sectional view, taken on the line 44 of Figure 3;

Figure 5 is an enlarged horizontal sectional view, taken on the line 5-5of Figure 2 5 y Figure 6 is an enlarged vertical sectional view throughthe temper screw and the means for elevating or lowering the same;

Figure 7 is a horizontal section taken on the line 77 of Figure 6;

Figure 8 is a detail perspective view of the means for mounting thesprocket wheels atl the top of the Samson post;

Figure 9 isa detail sectional view'taken on the'line 9-9'of Fig; 5.'

The ordinary construction and arrangement of parts employedL in welldrilling inachines includes a horizontally disposed walking beam l,mounted at its center on a trans'- verse, horizontal pivot pin 2,suitably seated in center irons or bearing brackets 3, which are securedto the top end of a main post or support- 3", known as a Samson post. The latter post is suitably braceal and reinforced by a supplemental post4L located in advance thereof and connected thereto by a cross bar 5ai-ranged near the top of the post 4 which is known as a headache post,the prime function of the same being to arrest the downward movement ofthat portion of the walking beam l located above the same, and preventinjury to the operator or operators beneath, in the event of breakage ofthe walking beam which sometimes happens at or near the fulcrum of thesame.y

The end of the walking beam located above the headache post, is equippedfor the attachment of the usual temper screw 6, c onnected at its lowerend by a swivel connectionf, to clamping'means 8, which firmly grip thecable 9,v to the lower end of which are connected the usual drillingtools or other tools used in the drillingof wells.

The opposite end of the walking beam l is connected by a pitman l0 to anadjustable wrist pin 1l, carried vby a crank arm 1Q, which is mounted ona drive shaft 13. The drive shaft is mounted in suitable bearings1 onthe upper ends of spaced posts 14, known as jack posts, and the shaft 13also carries the usual band wheel 15.

As thus far described, the machine is of the ordinary constructiongenerally entiployed in the drilling of oil and other wells,

- and these parts require no alteration to permit of the installation ofthe parts and mechanisms constituting the present improved adjustingmeans for the temper screw, which is `used for the purpose oflengthening the connection between Athe drilling tools and the walkingbeam lifting the same, as the'said tools drill their way through theearth, such adjustment being limited to the length of the said temperscrew. When the temper screw has been lowered or fed out its full lengthand Athe cable clamping means is operatiiig` close to thesur-face of thefloor, it is then necessary to stop the machine, release said clamps,return the screw and `attached clamps to elevated position by theoperation ofthe adjusting means in a reverse direction., when the cableis 'paid out or lengthened, and the clamps again attached thereto, andthe motion of the walking beam may be resumed. As the drills areconstantly lowering through their cutting action, it is necessary tointermit-te-ntly gi` .the screw a slight turning action during theupsa-nd-down motion of the same, in order that t-he cutting edges of thetools may impact with the bottom of the bore or well, and this turningaction has heretofore been done by yhand accompanied by great danger tothe operator. rllhe device of the present invention is designed toovercome these defects by enabling the operator to effect the desiredadjustment or lowering of the tools by a simple turning of a hand wheelto a greater or less degree during the lowering or falling movement ofthe screw and beam, so that the great weight of the cable and attache-dtools may not retard such adj ust-ment, or by the simple opera-tion ofmov-ing a lever to apply the power of the drive shaft thereto in adirection to feed the screw downwardly step by step, as above described.By a reversal of the movement of the hand wheel, the screw may beelevated as stated, and by rncving the said lever in a reversedirection, the power of the drive shaft may be utilized to elevate thescrew more rapidly than by hand. y

To accomplish these desired results, there is mounted on the drive shaft13. between the bearing at the upper end of the front jack post 14 andthe adjacent face of the band wheel 15, a friction disc 16 divided intohalves and -clamped to the shaft 13 by bolts 16a traversing alined earson thel halves, said disc having an annular. outstanding flange 17,preferably flush with the periphery of the same, and an inner annularoutstanding flange 18, spaced therefrom. Adapted to hance its frictionalengagement` said wheel being somewhat less in Vdiameter than the spacebetween said flanges, and suitably mounted for rotation, in connectionwith a vsprocket wheel 21, on a stud shaft 20, ar-

ranged parallel with and on a horizontal plane with the drive shaft 13,the stud shaft being rotatably mounted in an upstandiin;r rocker arm2A-b. pivoted at its base and adapted to bc rocked by a shiftingrod 22arranged longitudinally of the machine.

The shifting rod 29. extends slightly be youd the supplemental post 4,and rpasses through a sliding bearing in the form lof a bracket 23mounted on the rea-r `face of 'the Samson post 3a, and through aboxing-24. carried at the end of a bracket 25 which is supported on thepost 14.

The bracket is provided with a rearwardly-directed extension 24a towhich the rocker arm 24h is pivoted at its lower end by a bolt 24C, asshown in Fig. 9 of the drawings. A

At its forward, free end, the shifting rod 522 is pivotally connect-edto an operating lever 26, arranged, when in a neutral position,vertically and parallel with the post 4t, to which the same is pivoted,atits upper end, by means of a short shaft Q7 mounted in a bracket 2,8,bolted or otherwise secured to said post.y The 'handle end of 'theoperating lever 26 is provided with a suitable spring pressed detent forengagement with a notched sector 29, having a centrally located notch 30which, when engaged by the said detent, maintains the lever in a centralor neutral position. at which time the friction drive wheel 19 isneither in engagement with one or the other of the flanges 17 and 18,with the result that the sprocket wheel 21 remains idle. It will be.seen that by releasing the detent, and manually moving the lever 26 inone or the other direction, the wheel 19 will be brought into contactwith either the adjacent face of the outer flange 17, when the sprocketwill be driven in one direction, or in engagement withv the adjacentface of the inner flange 18 when a reverse rotation of the wheel will beimparted thereto', the amount of pressure necessary being readilycontrolled by the hand of the operator. y

(l1-i: the rear side of the Samson post 8, as clearly shown in l `igure4e of the drawtbe adjacent end of the pivot pin 72 is retained in itsseat in the bearing portion ofthe center iron 3 by a cap 31. held inposition in the usual manner, and having a stud shaft 32 formedintegrally there with. the said stud .shaft being?1 in axial alineinentwith the axis of the pivot pin 2.

The stud shaft 32 is of a length sufficient to acconnnodate an innersprocket wheel 33,

an intermediate sprocket wheel 34, and au outer sprocket wheel 35, allof which are loosely mounted on and adapted to revolve independently ofthe shaft. but mounted to rotate together on a sleeve 32n around theshaft, the said wheels being held upon the shaft 32 by means of a collar36,` pinned or otherwise secured thereto.

The outermost sprocket wheel 35 is connected to the frictionally drivensprocket wheel 21 by a sprocket chain 37, while the intermediatesprocket wheel 34 is connected by aI chain 38 to a sprocket wheel 39,loosely mounted for rotation on the extended end ofV the short sha'l't27, to which the aforesaid lever 26 is pivoted, said sprocket wheelbeing located at the rear side of the post 4 and acting as a hand wheel,to be readily grasped by the hand of the operator, if it is desired toactuate the temper screw 6 by hand power, in a manner to be explained,instead of utilizing the friction drive through the medium of the lever,both actuating means being located adjacent to each other and wit-hineasy reach of the operator, who stands adjacent to the rising andfalling cable 9 where entering the well.

. A sprocket chain 40 passes around thc innermost sprocket wheel 33. andextends forwardly towards the temper screw end of the walking beaml`said chain having its upper and lower flights passing over flanged idlerrollers 41 and 42 respectively, the remainder of said chain extendingdownwardly and passingr aroundy a sprocket wheel t3 mounted on a shortshaft 44. The shaft 44, as will be clearly seen by reference to Figure 7of the drawings, is journalled in opposite bearings 45, formed inthe'two halves or identical members 46 comprising a hollow casing havingoutstanding flanges 47, for securing the same, as by bolts 48, to thelower ends of the arms 49, comprising the temper screw frame, which. isprovided at the upper end with a T-head 50 for connection to theadjacent end of the walking beam. y

Between the bearings 45, the shaft is provided with a worm 51 which isin mesh with a worm wheel 52, having threaded connection with thethreads of the temper screw, and provided on itsA upper and lower faceswith ball races for the reception of anti-friction balls which are alsoseated in complementary ball races formed on thc inner faces of the topand bottom plates of the casing members, the said casing being composedof two members to facilitate assembling the structure, and the jointbetween the two being provided with means for preventing leakage oflubricant. with which the casing is designed to be filled.

By the application of either the hand power or the power derivedfrom theshaft 18, it will be seen that the worm wheel 52, which is, in thenature of a nut, may be caused to lift the temper screw upwardly in theframe 49, or by a retrograde movement to allow the same to be lowered. The upper end of the cable 9, while the machine is in operation, isgenerally held by a hook (not shown) to the bull wheel, which is locatedadjacent thereto and suiiicient slack allowed to permit of the action ofthe walking beam and to allow the clamp to lower until near the iioorlevel. when said hook is detached. more line paid out to allow the toolsto rest on the bottom of the well` the screw is elevated as heretoforedescribed, in the frame 49, after releasing the clamp 8, when the latteris again tightened on the cable at a high point and the operation ofdrilling begun again.

The upper and lower flights of the chain 40 where extending from thepivot of the walking beam to the outer end thereof, are constantly bornedownwardly upon by flanged rollers 54, carried by an arm extendinglongitudinally of the walking beam on one side. and intermediatelypivoted thereto at the central point by a fulcrum pin 56. the oppositeend being constantly pressed upwardly by a coiled spring 57 surroundinga guide pin carried by a bracket 58 secured to the side of the beam 1.Thus at all times any slack that may occur in said chain during theup-and-down movement of the walking beam, and due to paying out more'cab-le, is taken care of.

The chain 40 where passing over the idlers 41 and 42, ext-endssubstantially parallel to the temper screw 6 so as not to interfere withthe rocking movement of the frame 49 about the T-head 50 during theupward and downward movement of the adjacent end of the walking beam.

The upper end of the temper screw t is rigidly secured to a cross headGa which is adapted to slide up and down between the frame arms 49 andprevent any rotary movement of the temper screw.

In order to secure proper adjustment of the friction roller 19 to placethe same halfway between the flanges 17 and 18, when the operating lever26 is held in neutral position, the shifting rod 22 is providedintermediate its ends, with a turnbuckle 22a.

In the operation of a well rigging including the improved temper screwadjusting means, it is possible to rapidly raise the said temper screwduring the operation of the walking beam by means of the power drivenportion of the device. This frequently becomes necessary by reason ofthe caving in `of the walls of the well ahead of the drill whichprevents the latter from dropping to the bottom, thus causing a slack inthe cable which must be taken care of by a quick adjustment of the screwin order that the drill .may be lifted to again cut its way through theobstruction, and it is also necessary when tools are being lished for,or have become jarred loose, and rise only slightly or not at all, whenthe beam moves upwardly and the cable has to be taken up accordingly.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that a simple, cheaplyn'iainifactured, easily installed means hase been provided for use mconnection with well drilling' machines which may be quickly and safelyoperated to adjust the temper screw of said machines without the dangerusually attendant upon such operations, and that the said screw may beadjusted either by hand power or by the power of the machine drivingelements.

llVhat is claimed is: y

l. In temper screw adjusting means for well drilling` machines having aivalking beam and a temper screw connected therewith, a. worm wheelhaving' a threaded bore engaging the screw and held from longitudinalmovement7 a worm in engagen'ient with said worm wheel, a drivingsprocket wheel mounted on the shaft of said worm', a chain in engagementwith said sprocket wheel, a second sprocket wheel mounted on a fixedpart adjacent the walking beam and receiving' said sprocket chain, athird sprocket wheel also mounted on said fixed part, a second sprocketchain connected to the third sprocket wheel, and fourth sprocket wheeiaround which the second sprocket chain is passed, said fourth sprocketwheel and the second sprocket chain being adapted to be operatedmanually to rotate the worm wheel and raise and lower the temper screw.

2. ln temper screw adjusting .means for well drilling); machines havinga` walking beam, a temper screw connected therewith, a worm wheel havinga tl eaded engagementwith the temper screw and held from longitudinalumvcmcnt, a transverse worm held iu cngniecment with said worm wheel andhaving` a shaft provided with a sprocket wheel, a second sprocket wheelmounted on tiXed part adjacent the walking' beam, a sprocket chainleading 'from the first sprocket wheel to the second sprocket wheel, athird sprocket wheel also mounted on said tinted part, a drive shaft-'carrying a disk, means for operating said walkingf beam from the driveshaft, a stud shaft provided with a sprocket wheel, a second sprocketchain connecting the last mentioned sprocket wheel with the secondsprocket wheel, whereby the worm wheel is operated by power from thedrive shaft.

3. In temper screw adjusting means for well drilling machines having' awalking beam` and a 'temper screw connected therewith, 'a wormwheel'having' a threaded engagement with the screw and held from lon-,eitudinal movement, a transverse. shaft carrying' a. worm in engagementwith the worm wheel, a sprocket wheel mounted on said shaft, a pluralityof sprocket wheels mounted on a fixed part adjacent to the walking,Ybeam spindle, a sprocket chain leading' from the tirst-mentionedsprocket wheel to one of the sprocket wheels on said fixed part, asecond chain leadingV from another one of the sprocket wheels on saidXed part to a, manually movable sprocket wheel` and a third sprocketchain leadingr from the, third sprocket wheel on said fixed part toanother sprocket wheel, a drive shaft having,Y a driving' disc, a drivewheel, and means for mounting' the last-mentioned sprocket wheel andsaid drive wheel so as to engage or disenagre the drive wheel with thedriving disc and thus aetuate the temper screw either by power means ormanually.

et. ln temper screw adjust-ingr means for well drilling machines having'a walking beam, and a temper screw connected therewith, a worm wheelhaving; threaded engagement with said screw and held from longitudinalmovement, a worm shaft carryinga worm in engagement with said wormwheel, a sprocket wheel mounted on said worm wheel shaft. asprocketchain connected to said sprocket wheel, a plurality ot sprocketwheels mounted on a fixed part adjacent the walking' beam spindle, thesaid sprocket chain leading from the first-mentioned sprocket wheelbeing passed around one of said'sprocket wheels, manually operated meansincluding a sprocket wheel, a second sprocket chain leadingf from thelastmentioned sprocket wheel to another one of the sprocket wheels onthe fixed part, a drive shaft carrying; a driving disk, a shiftable rod,another sprocket wheel mounted to be rocked by the rod, a third chainleading from one of the sprocket wheels on the. xed part to Vthelast-mentioned sprocket wheel, and means provided on the spindle of thelatter for enggagen'xent with the driving disc so that the driving discmay be caused to operate the temper screw either by power or by hand.

5. In temper screw adjusting means for well drillingr machines having awalking' beam, and a temper screw connected therewith, a worm wheelhavingr a threaded engagement with the temper screw and held fromlongitudinal n'iovement, a transverse worm shaft carrying a worm inengagement with said worm wheel. a sprocket wheel mounted on said wormshaft. a drive shaft, means for driving,lr said walking beam from saidshaft. a friction disc mounted on the drive shaft and provided with apair of annular flanges spaced from each other, a shiftable rod having aturnbuckle for longitudinal adjustment, a friction drive wheel mountedto' be brought into engagement with ig o either of the flanges of saidfriction disc by the shiftable rod, a sprocket wheel mounted to rotatewith said friction drive wheel, and sprocket chain gearing leading fromthe lastmentioned sj'nocket wheel to and engaging the sprocket wheel onthe worm shaft, whereby, by the shifting of said rod, the drive wheelmay be brought into engagement with either one of said flanges to rotatethe worm wheel and adjust the temper screw up or down.

6. In temper screw adjusting means for' well drilling' machines having awalking beam, and a temper screw connected therewith, a worm wheelhaving engagement with the temper screw and held from longitudinalmovement, a transverse shaft carrying a worm in engagement with saidworm wheel, a .sprocket wheel mounted on said worm shaft, a. rocker arm,a shiftable rod connected to and adapted to move said rocker arm, asprocket wheel. and a drive element mounted on said rocker arm, a driveshaft, means for operating the walking beam from said drive shaft, adriving disc mounted on said drive shaft and provided with a pair ofspaced annular flanges, and means for shifting said rod to bring thedrive element on the rocker arm into engagement with either of saidflanges, and sprocket gearing leading from the sprocket wheel on therocker arm to the sprocket wheel on the worm shaft.

7. In temper screw adjusting means for wellv drilling machines having awalking beam, and a teniper screw connected therewith, a worm wheelhaving threaded engagement with said screw and held from longitudinalmovement, a transverse worm shaft carrying a worm in engagement withsaid worm wheel, a sprocket wheel mounted on said worm shaft, threesprocket wheels mounted ou a fixed part adjacent the walk ingl beam, asprocketchain leading from one of the three sjn'ocket wheels to thesprocket wheel on the worin shaft, a manually operated sprocket wheel, asecond sprocket chain leading from a second one of the three sprocketwheels. to the nranually operated sprocket wheel, a shift-able rod, arocker arm pivotally connected to said rod, a sprocket wheel and a driveelement mounted to rotate in the rocker arm, a third sprocket chainleading from the third one of the three sprocket wheels to the sprocketwheel on the rocker arm, a drive shaft, means for operating said walkingbeam from the drive shaft, a friction disc carried by the drive shaftand provided with a pair of annular flanges, and means for shifting thesaid rod to bring the drive wheel into 'engagement with either one ofthe flanges of the friction disc whereby said temper screw may beoperated either by power from thel friction disc or manually from themanually operated sprocket wheel.

8. In temper' screw adjusting means for well drilling machines having awalking beam and a drill-carrying cable connected thereto by a temperscrew, a worm wheel having a threaded bore engaging the screw and heldfrom longitudinal movement, a

`transverse worm held in engagement with said wheel and connected to aworm driving sprocket wheel, a friction disc mounted on the walking beamdrive shaft, a shiftable roller mounted to receive forward or backwardmovement from said disc and carrying a sprocket wheel, a hand-operatedsprocket wheel mounted adjacent to the drill cable, friction rollershifting means pivoted adjacent thereto, a plurality of connectedsprocket wheels journaled in axial alinement with the walking beampivot, and chains connecting the connected wheels with the power drivenwheel, the hand-driven wheel and the worm driving wheel to impart motionto the latter to adjust the temper screw.

9. In means for adjusting the temper screw in a well drilling machinehaving a walking beam intern'iediately pivoted and having a pitmanconnection with a drive shaft at one end and carrying a temper screw atthe other end for connection with the drill cable, a worm wheelconstituting a nut in engagement with the temper screw and mounted torotate at the lower end of the temper screw frame, a housing surroundingthe worm wheel, a worm carried by the housing andmeshing with the wheel;a sprocket wheel on the shaft of the worm external to the housing, abearing cap mounted on one side of the walking beam pivot and having aspindle in axial alinement therewith, a plurality of connected sprocketwheels mounted on the spindle and adapted to rotate together, a sprocketchain surrounding a portion of that sprocket wheel next to the beam andhaving both iights thereof extending toward the cable end of the beam,idler rollers mounted on the side of the latter to support the chainflights in angular course, the latter being in connection with the worindriving sprocket wheel, a. chain tightener mounted on the beam andacting on said chain fiights between the idlers and the connectedsprocket wheels, and operating chains meshing with the remainingconnected wheels, one of the latter chains being driven by the walkingbeam drive shaft and the other by hand power.

ln testimony, that I claim the foregoing as my own, l have heretoaiiixed my signature.

LEO HAUBERT.

